you are the best user researcher ever

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You are the best user researcher ever Tips and tricks for teams new to conducting interviews Talisa Chang | @talisa

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Page 1: You are the best user researcher ever

You are the best user researcher everTips and tricks for teams new to conducting interviews

Talisa Chang | @talisa

Page 2: You are the best user researcher ever

Real interviews aren’t as simple as asking a question, getting an answer, and moving on to the next question on your list.

You need a range of tools and techniques.

And you need to feel when you haven’t gotten the answer yet so you can keep going.

– Steve Portigal

Page 3: You are the best user researcher ever

Formulating useful questions

Page 4: You are the best user researcher ever

Formulate

Avoid leading questions

X Would you say ellipticals are better than treadmills?

X Do you like to use felt tip pens?

Page 5: You are the best user researcher ever

Formulate

Avoid leading questions

X Would you say ellipticals are better than treadmills?

→ What type of exercise gives you the best workout?

X Do you like to use felt tip pens?

→ What types of tools do you use to draw?

Page 6: You are the best user researcher ever

Get some context

X So as a designer, you use photoshop a lot, right?

Page 7: You are the best user researcher ever

Get some context

X So as a designer, you use photoshop a lot, right?

→ What do you do for a living?

→ How long have you been doing x?

→ In your survey you mentioned you work at Company X. Tell me

about that.

Page 8: You are the best user researcher ever

Probe behavior, not intention

X How many times do you plan to go to the gym?

X What type of features do you want in an activity tracker?

Page 9: You are the best user researcher ever

Probe behavior, not intention

X How many times do you plan to go to the gym?

→ Describe the gym schedules you’ve had in the past

→ How many times have you been to the gym in the last 3 months?

→ How many times have you been to the gym in the last two weeks?

X What type of features do you want in an activity tracker?

→ Walk me through a time you had a positive experience doing…

→ Walk me through a time you had a negative experience doing...

Page 10: You are the best user researcher ever

Focus on specific instances

X How do you usually...?

Page 11: You are the best user researcher ever

Focus on specific instances

X How do you usually...?

→ Walk me through the last time you…

→ What were the steps you took to…and then what did you do?

→ Take me through your day yesterday…

→ Show me how you (when screen sharing) …

→ Can you give me an example? (After they mention something)

Page 12: You are the best user researcher ever

Avoid compound questions

X When you’re cooking, do you use a food processor, or a hand

mixer, or like, a Vitamix, or…?

Page 13: You are the best user researcher ever

Avoid compound questions

X When you’re cooking, do you use a food processor, or a hand

mixer, or like, a Vitamix, or…?

→ What kitchen item do you use the most?

→ List all of the equipment you used to make dinner last night

Page 14: You are the best user researcher ever

Ask for comparisons

→ Do your co-workers also do it that way?

→ How are things different than they were last year?

→ What’s the difference between receiving that info via text versus an email?

Ask for quantity

→ How many times did that happen last week?

→ How many projects fall into that category?

Page 15: You are the best user researcher ever

Force them to prioritize (as a means for getting to WHY)

→ Based on the 2 experiences I just showed you, which would you choose?

… WHY?

→ On a scale of 1-10, how easy was it to complete this task? (ask for each)

… WHY?

Page 16: You are the best user researcher ever

Create a scenario

→ If you had to explain to a 5-year old how to use this remote control, what

would you say?

→ Let’s say I just arrived here from another country. How would you describe a

typical American breakfast?

Page 17: You are the best user researcher ever

Conducting the interview

Page 18: You are the best user researcher ever

Team Roles

● One moderator● One note taker● One observer/photo-taker

If in-person: maximum 3 people in the room

If remote: as many observers and note takers as possible!

Page 19: You are the best user researcher ever

Make them comfortable

● Offer water, a snack, etc

● Thank them for their time

● A little small talk to break the ice

● Get permission to record (and explain how you’ll use it)

● Let them know if others are listening in

● Re-mention the NDA

● Remind them it’ll be fun!

Be a good host

Page 20: You are the best user researcher ever

Set the stageWhy are they here?

● Give some context: “We here to learn about you and people like you as it relates to XYZ”

● But not too much: “We’re having problems getting customers to convert on the checkout flow”

● Let them know you didn’t design what they’re looking at (lie if necessary), so they can be honest (“you can’t hurt my feelings”)

Page 21: You are the best user researcher ever

Tone matters

● In person: use active listener body language, smile, keep it casual but professional

● Over the phone is even harder: don’t affirm to eagerly (“that’s interesting!”), but be careful of coming off curt or monotone (“Ok.”)

● Use transitions: “That’s very helpful. Now I want to move on to…”; “I want to switch gears a bit and talk about…”

● Listen to the recording afterwards and/or ask your peers for honest feedback for how you sounded

Not too effusive, not to robot-y

Page 22: You are the best user researcher ever

A conversation that isn’t

Put your researcher hat on

● Should feel like a conversation to them (don’t be a question robot!)

BUT:

● Avoid talking about yourself, explaining the way the product should be, or saying “me too!”

● Be careful about paraphrasing their statements, finishing their sentences, or putting words in their mouth

● They shouldn’t be able to figure out exactly what you’re working on/what your assumptions are (a sign that you may be leading them)

Page 23: You are the best user researcher ever

Silence is golden

● Pause after you say something

● Pause after they say something

● Let silences hang and make them fill it (they will!)

● Don’t jump to the next question

● Try not to interrupt

● Avoid affirmations/acknowledgements (they can be leading)

● “Let people speak in paragraphs” – Steve Portigal

Page 24: You are the best user researcher ever

Be confidentYou are the best researcher

ever

● Trust the question!

● Don’t trail off

● You can be open-ended and direct at the same time

● It’s ok to pause, regroup, take notes (the silence isn’t as long as it feels)

● They have no idea how the interview is going

Page 25: You are the best user researcher ever

ClarifyBecause you can’t ask a

recording later

● Repeat (just be careful about putting words in their mouth)

● “What do you mean by that?”

● “What did you expect to happen?

● “Why do you call it ‘the Hellmouth’?”

● “How do those departments work together?”

● “When you say “her,” who exactly are you referring to?”

● There is no such thing as an obvious answer (Always ask why!!!)

Page 26: You are the best user researcher ever

A note on paraphrasing

The gateway to leading

Paraphrasing can seem like a helpful way to clarify, but you run the risk of introducing your biases:

User: “I often browse through 30 or 40 pages of results before I find what I’m looking for”

Researcher: “So searching is pretty time consuming for you.”

User: “Um… yeah, I guess so.”

Instead, try clarifying questions like:

● “Why do you do that?”● “How do you feel about that?”● “How often does that happen?”● “When you say XYZ, what do you mean by

that?”

Page 27: You are the best user researcher ever

ProbeThe only questions you need for

a great interview

● So do you mean… ● What do you mean by “thing

they said”?● Tell me more about that…● Can you give an example?● Help me understand...● Why?● Why?● Why?● Why?● Why?

Page 28: You are the best user researcher ever

Beware of the query effectPeople can make up an opinion about anything, and they’ll do so if asked. Users can comment at great length about something that doesn’t matter to them, and which they wouldn’t have given a second thought of if left to their own devices.

It’s dangerous to make big design changes because “users didn’t like this” or “users asked for that.” If you ask leading questions or press respondents for answers, they might make up opinions that don’t reflect their real preferences in the slightest.

– NNG article, Interviewing Users

Page 29: You are the best user researcher ever

On hitting the key topics and

featuresBecause sometimes you gotta.

● Keep a list of your “must have” topics or features handy, including related questions

● Check items off as they come up organically in the session. If the user doesn’t bring something up or notice a feature, don’t push it (see: the query effect)

● At the end of the session, check to see what hasn’t been touched on, and choose only 1 or 2 areas to ask about (and take those answers with a grain of salt!)

● Be sure to write out any questions related to your “must haves” in advance to prevent as much bias/leading as possible

● Afterwards, brainstorm better, less-leading ways you could have gotten to these topics

Page 30: You are the best user researcher ever

“Would you use this?”

Other ways to get at the burning questions about your designs

and prototypes

● Why is it “cool”?

● How is it “helpful”?

● How would this change what you do today?

● Can you give me an example?

● Going back to that time you searched for happy sloths, how would this have fit into that process?

● When wouldn’t you use this?

● Is this more helpful than X?

● If you could only have 3, would this be one of them? (Why?)

Page 31: You are the best user researcher ever

Wrap-upYou made it!

● Final Q: “Based on all the things we talked about/you’ve seen today, what are you most excited about?”

● Thank them and express how valuable the session was

● Let them know when/how they’ll receive the incentive

● Ask them if you can follow up with further questions

● See if they know anyone else you could speak to!

Page 32: You are the best user researcher ever

Debrief immediately

While it’s fresh!

● Right after each session

● Collect and summarize major high and low points

● Identify surprising learnings and invalidated assumptions

● Share quotes

● Flag themes to look out for

● The debrief isn’t the same as a findings report

Page 33: You are the best user researcher ever

A note on being notetaker

You’re just as important as the moderator

● Be present (get off email)

● Take notes, including relevant quotes that strike you

● Jot down follow-up questions for the moderator to ask

● Take note of things to consider that impact your work

● Based on what you heard, write “How might we’s” to discuss with the team

Page 36: You are the best user researcher ever

Talisa Chang is an interdisciplinary product and UX consultant who specializes in helping teams learn before they build.

Find her on Twitter, Linkedin, Medium, or her website.